Helix

Chapter 21 - Ruby

I was at the castle again. Toph was still recovering, but strangely, his skin had healed almost instantly. He still seemed sore, but scars were nonexistent, and he was recovering well at the infirmary. Things had pretty much settled down, but the end to the White Phantom Tournament was still unresolved.

Today was the first time I requested to see Father rather than the other way around. There was a calm in the air as I passed by the familiar torches burning on the wall, past the same cobble walls that exuded a sense of ancient glory. The doors opened, drawing a long, echoing creak.

I marched in. Both Father and Mother were sitting in their thrones, pristine and otherworldly in their elegant, expensive robes that trailed to the floor. Their hands clasped over their stomachs and they held a calculating gaze on me.

"Mother, Father," I greeted, bowing my head. I wore a clean white tunic today, so there was no curtsying.

"Aye," Mother gasped, gesturing at my clothes in aversion, "where are your dresses? This is simply facetious!"

I straightened my head, looking at her cooly. Mother had grown old, I realized. I hadn't studied her like this in many years, but now that I was, her hair was like a melting puddle of grey snow. There were bags under her eyes, wrinkles mapping her forehead, loose skin drooping on her high cheekbones. "I like it this way, Mother. I hope you will respect my choices."

Mother choked on my words. Disbelievingly, she turned to Father, saying, "This is all your upbringing! I never brought her up to be this way!"

I held my head higher than ever. It was so wrong to disobey Mother like that, I knew, like I was committing crime and letting her years of upbringing down. Yet, something in my heart told me I was right. So I followed it, keeping my head up higher than ever.

"I come today to ask you, honored Father and Mother, about Academia Rephia." I paused, cautiously glancing at Father, whose face was still stony. I took a deep breath and continued, "In the past several days, many students were injured from the White Phantom Tournament. Some of them I knew, some of them my fellow students whom I've seen around a few times. But the truth remains that I care about them. The White Phantom Tournament was not acceptable as it posed serious potential for injuries to them. It is my best wishes to protect them. It is my duty as the heir to the throne."

Father finally moved. He unclasped his hands and pressed them onto the handles of the throne. "What do you propose, then?" he asked curtly.

"I've already stated this at the final battle at the White Phantom Tournament, but I wish to propose it again, officially. The White Phantom Tournament needs to have no tolerance towards belligerent behaviors that endangers other students' safety."

"Plausible. I agree, Ruby, but," Father drummed his fingers on the throne, "you should also be aware that this year's tournament was made bloody on purpose. We needed to sacrifice to find neighboring spies that have infiltrated the school."

My mouth dropped. "How could you? There were lives on the line! Shouldn't leaders of the country prioritize their citizens' health and safety?" I didn't hold back the acrid contempt in my words, and I didn't flinch when Father's and Mother's gaze sharpened. "I think," I said boldly, anger fueling my voice, "that leaders should be modelling figures who act for the good of everyone."

"Indeed. But what about protecting the country? Isn't that part of a leader's job as well?"

"Yet there's a balance, isn't there? My limits stop when it starts threatening others' lives."

Slowly, Father nodded. Excitement and relief tingled in me; never in my life had I seen Father nod in the courtroom.

"You did a great job with exposing the spy, Ruby," Father finally said.